Key Takeaways:
As a national retail owner and developer with more than 100 properties across the US, Brookfield Properties works closely with thousands of retailers and service providers every year, giving us a front-row view into how beauty businesses are evolving and where physical retail continues to matter most.
Beauty has always been about discovery. Running your fingers across a new brow product. The moment a lash extensions session transforms a face. The satisfaction of finding the exact shade that makes you feel like yourself, but better, of course. These experiences—tactile, intimate, transformative—can only happen in person.
For years, "in person" meant one of two things: a prestige department store counter or a hidden suite above a street-level storefront. The retail landscape is shifting, and the definition of where beauty businesses can thrive is too. The reality is nuanced: Modern malls are evolving into high-opportunity environments particularly suited to beauty's next chapter. And for beauty service providers in particular—salon owners, lash and brow studios, aestheticians, and wellness concepts—they're becoming strategic partners in a new retail ecosystem.
Why Physical Space Matters More than Ever for Beauty Services
As an industry that relies on in-person interface, beauty service providers face a growing challenge. Rising commercial rents in traditional street retail mean smaller margins and less flexibility. Private suites in medical or professional buildings offer privacy but sacrifice the visibility that drives new-client acquisition. The result is many talented aestheticians, lash artists, and salon owners find themselves trapped between limited foot traffic and unsustainable overhead.
Meanwhile, demand for these services is soaring. The wellness market has exploded. Beauty treatments once considered luxury—professional brows, lash extensions, facials—have become routine for millions of consumers. Walk-in discovery is still the primary way clients find service providers, yet the traditional environments where that discovery happens are disappearing.
Malls solve this problem in ways that street retail and private suites simply can't. They deliver consistent, high-intent traffic from beauty-engaged consumers. They can place service providers directly alongside category drivers—Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Aveda, Lush, MAC—creating natural co-tenancy that amplifies visibility for everyone. They offer the convenience modern consumers expect: a place where you can get your lashes done on Saturday afternoon, grab a skincare product, and pick up a new fragrance, all without multiple trips across town.
"For many beauty service providers, visibility is the biggest growth unlock. Moving into a high-traffic mall environment doesn’t just change the address,” said Erin McCarthy, Vice President and Head of Retail Development at Brookfield Properties. “It changes how quickly clients discover the brand, how often they return, and how efficiently the business can scale."
For service entrepreneurs, this shift from invisibility to visibility changes the unit economics. More walk-ins mean faster client acquisition. Repeat business grows when a space is convenient and easy to find. For instance, a lash artist in a busy mall corridor will naturally see more clients than one in a professional suite—and that volume matters for scaling.
Pop-Up Brick and Mortar
The conversation around beauty brands and physical retail is different. Many emerging beauty founders are rightfully focused on wholesale partnerships or prestige retail placement first. A full standalone store requires significant capital, operational complexity, and market validation that most growing brands aren't ready for.
But that doesn't mean brick-and-mortar is off the table.
Physical retail still offers something digital can't: sampling, education, storytelling, and community. A consumer who sees a product online might bookmark it. A consumer who tries it at a beauty event, shade-matched by an expert, and feels the texture in her hand—that's a different kind of conversion. It's also a richer data point about how your product performs in real-world conditions.
Malls enable this through flexible, low-risk formats. A weekend pop-up during the holidays. A seasonal activation during a spring launch. A shade-matching demo hosted alongside a lash studio or salon. A co-branded event with an anchor retailer that drives traffic to both businesses. None of these requires a long-term lease or major buildout. All of them create real consumer touchpoints and generate the kind of buzz that prestige retail buyers notice.
The brands winning right now understand this: Brick-and-mortar doesn't have to mean a permanent, fully stocked storefront. It can be an experiment, a moment of high-visibility discovery that drives momentum back to your other channels.
The Broader Ecosystem: Why Malls Are Becoming Beauty Hubs
A macro trend worth noting: Luxury houses—Prada, Celine, Rabanne, and others—are increasingly investing in beauty as a physical, in-store touchpoint. This signals sustained, high-intent consumer demand for in-person beauty experiences. When luxury houses invest, it creates a halo effect. Beauty becomes a category that malls actively cultivate, which benefits everyone operating in that space—especially service providers who depend on visibility and foot traffic to survive.
Consumer behavior is shifting too. Shoppers arriving at malls increasingly come with high intent and openness to exploration. They're not there by accident. They've chosen to be there, often specifically to browse, try things, and discover. Modern malls are also mixing wellness, fitness, services, and retail in ways that create holistic beauty ecosystems. A consumer arriving for a workout might grab a facial. Someone coming for a haircut might try a new product. These cross-category moments strengthen the entire community.
Research supports this. McKinsey's State of Beauty 2025 report found that consumers still prefer brick-and-mortar stores for discovery and purchase. Recent consumer research indicates that convenient location, habit, and product availability are primary drivers of in-store shopping.
And while independent beauty brands continue to grow, major conglomerates maintain significant power in physical retail spaces—which matters because it means both established and emerging brands can find their place.
Like many categories, beauty performs best in good company, McCarthy said. “When a mall has a strong lineup of beauty tenants, each benefits from the shared traffic and discovery that happens naturally,” she explained. “Malls allow beauty businesses to plug into an ecosystem rather than operating in isolation."
For beauty businesses operating in malls, this ecosystem effect is tangible. Think: Built-in marketing support from center-wide campaigns (like Brookfield Properties' recent spend $200, get $25 holiday reward program across 19 malls nationally). Cross-promotion with anchor retailers that drive mutual traffic. Broad demographic reach. The ability for beauty entrepreneurs to test new formats and concepts without betting the company.
What to Consider Before You Open
If you're a service provider or brand founder considering a mall space, here are a few key considerations.
Space planning: Size matters. A lash studio needs different infrastructure than a salon or wellness concept. Think through your equipment, back-of-house needs, client flow, and whether the space can be customized to meet those requirements. Buildout costs vary significantly based on the condition of the available space.
Location within the mall: Not all mall locations are created equal. Corridors with strong beauty co-tenancy perform better. Proximity to anchor tenants matters. A lash studio next to Sephora benefits from that traffic. A brand pop-up in a high-visibility corridor during peak shopping season performs differently than one away in a hidden corner. Study the flow of the mall and where your ideal customer shops.
Lease flexibility: This is where malls' advantage becomes clear. If you're a service provider testing a new market, or a brand running a seasonal activation, short-term leases and pop-up options exist. Don't feel pressured into a five-year commitment if a one-year or month-to-month option is available. Some malls now offer self-service platforms (like LeaseOn at Brookfield Properties) where founders can browse real-time availability, understand space details, and initiate negotiations for short-term leases entirely online.
The Physical Store as a Strategic Asset
As beauty continues shifting toward experiential, service-driven, and community-oriented models, physical space becomes a genuine competitive advantage. Rather than fighting e-commerce, and the associated cost of shipping and returns, it’s about recognizing that beauty—sampling, artistry, consultations, transformations—still happens best when two people are in the same room.
The next wave of beauty growth will come from service providers who secure visible, accessible, high-traffic space. It will come from brands that understand physical retail as a high-impact touchpoint that amplifies their other channels, rather than their entire strategy. And increasingly, it will come from businesses that recognize the mall can be your partner. It's infrastructure. For founders who show up in person—where customers already go to discover, experiment, and indulge—the opportunity is real.
